Pipe organ assembly



June 30, 1959 s. G. BOWMAN 2,892,375 PIPE ORGAN ASSEMBLY Filed March 1, 1957 E v INVENTOR.

SAMUEL s. BOWMAN. a gmmzm ATTOR NYEYS United States Patent PIPE ORGAN ASSENIBLY Samuel G. Bowman, Mount Lebanon Township, Allegheny County, Pa., assignor of one-half to Anna H- Bowman, Mount Lebanon Township, Allegheny County, 'and one-half to James M. Guthrie, Crafton Borough, Allegheny County, Pa.

Application March 1, 1957, Serial No. 643,344 6 Claims. (Cl. 84337) My invention relates to pipe organs, and more particularly to portable organ cabinets, in which organ pipes, pneumatic pipe-controlling valves, a wind-box, and a motor-driven blower for supplying air to the windbox under super-atmospheric pressure are combined in compact assembly.

In accordance with my objects the invention consists in certain new and useful improvements in the combination of such instrumentalities in a cabinet, and especially in means for insuring substantially noiseless operation of the motor-driven blower.

In my copending application for Letters Patent of the United States, Serial No. 428,451, filed May 10, 1954, now Letters Patent No. 2,788,695, granted April 6, 1957, I illustrate and describe apparatus whereby an electronic organ or a piano may be readily converted into a pipe organ. The apparatus essentially comprises a portable cabinet that contains a rank of pipes, a wind-box, a motor-driven blower for supplying air to the wind-box, an air pressure regulator, electrically actuated air valves for the pipes, and an electrical transformer, whereby the assembled pipe organ elements may be readily delivered (after the manner that a piece of furniture is normally delivered) to a church, theatre, home, or school, and plugged into a domestic 110 volt electrical supply circuit for the operation of the blower and the electrically operated valves of the pipes. Various ranks of pipes may be provided in the cabinet, such as diapason, English horn, flute, etc., with the effect that a pipe organ of the desired pipe combination and range may be obtained without requiring the individual and costly field construction or assembly of the organ, as was the practice heretofore.

A typical embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view of a portable cabinet of the sort in mind. The body of the cabinet is shown broken away in its lower portion, revealing in cross. section and elevation the portions of the structure in which my present invention is centered; and

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view in verticalsection of a portion of the structure shown in Fig. 1, illustrating a modification in the structure of the invention.

Referring to Fig. 1 a portable cabinet P is shown fragmentarily, partly in side elevation and partly in vertical cross section. A wind-box W is enclosed in the cabinet. In this case the wind-box comprises an upperchamber portion 34, and a lower chamber portion 35, the two chamber portions standing in open communication at 36. The wind-box extends substantially throughout the length and breadth of the cabinet, leaving within the back, the opposite sides and the bottom of the cabinet spaces 37 for the movement of air from above the wind-box into a chamber 38 located beneath the upper chamber portion 34 and to the front of the lower chamber portion 35 of the wind-box.

In the chamber 38 an air blower 39 is mounted, ar-

ranged to be driven by an electric motor 40, to deliver air under pipe-playing pressure, through an air duct or outlet 41, into the wind-box. Three rows of pipes 5a, each mounted at its lower air-receiving end upon an electrically controlled valve D, are arranged selectively to communicate with the interior of the uppor portion 34 of the wind-box, while two rows of pipes 5b are similarly mounted on valves D to communicate with the interior of the lower portion 35 of the wind-box. When one and another of the valves D are electrically energized, air flows from the wind-box into the corresponding pipes and the pipes speak. The wall of the cabinet P includes one or more openings A, covered by a panel F of reticulate metal or cloth, through which the musical sound developed by the organ pipes flows outwardly, and through which air may fiow inwardly into the cabinet. The particular structure of the valves D, and their operation to control the selective flow of actuating air to the pipes 5a and 5b, is not required for an understanding of my present invention, wherefore this specification will not be prolonged with such details. Suffice it to refer to my copending application and the patent issued in pursuance thereof for any auxiliary structure which is neither illustrated nor described herein.

. The blower 39 draws air through a duct or inlet that opens from the outer atmosphere through the wall of chamber 38, as at 61. When the organ is to be played the blower 39 is started and maintained in operation, propelling air from the outer atmosphere into the windbox, and maintaining in the wind-box sufficient air. pressure to play the organ pipes. The quantity of air under pressure required to sound the pipes 5a and 5b varies according to the number of pipes which are played, wherefore it is desirable to regulate the amount ofair delivered by the blower.

Means to this end comprise a butterfly valve 44 in the air outlet 41, together with means for adjusting such valve in accordance with the pressure of the air in the wind-box. More particularly, the lower portion 35 of the wind-box is formed as a bellows portion 45, having a coiled tension spring 46 tending to compress the bellows portion against the pressure of the air in the wind-box. The movable wall or diaphragm 47 of the bellows portion is equipped with a rigid arm 48, and such arm is pivotally connected by a rod 49 to a crank arm 50integral with the axis of the butterfly valve 44. It will be manifest that when the pipes take a large quantity of air from the wind-box, the air pressure in the wind-box drops, while the consequence that the diaphragm 47 of the bellows willrise, under the pull of spring 46, and the butterfly valve 44 will be swung counterclockwise into a more open position, thereby permitting the blower 39 to feed more air into the wind-box. In other words, as the consumption of air by the organ pipes increases, the valve 44 is correspondingly adjusted to increase the delivery of air into the wind-box, and, on the other hand, when the consumption of air by the pipes decreases, the bellows portion 45 expands and the diaphragm 47 swings downwardly against the restraint of spring 46, thereby moving the valve 44 towards air-throttling position. Thus, the valve 44 and the bellows portion 45, with its linkage 48, 49 and 50, operate automatically to regulate the delivery of air into the wind-box in accordance'with the consumption of air by the pipes 5a and 5b.

While the motor-driven blower is in operation, it is desirable that the slight noise generated thereby shall not be heard when the pipes are silent. To this end the walls of the chamber 38 are lined with sound-absorbing pads 62 of felt, or glass wool, or the like. To the same end a damper 63 is mounted in the inlet or duct 60, and means are provided to close the damper and prevent the escape of sound waves outwardly through the inlet or duct when the pipes are not sounding. Such means advantageously comprise a chain-belt 64 inter-connecting sprocket-wheels 65 and 66 secured on the shafts of the valves or dampers 44 and 63, respectively. The organization is such that, when the pipes are silent and the valve 44 is closed by the mechanism 45, 48, 49 and 50, the damper 63 is closed and excludes the escape of any sound from the chamber 38 in which the motor-driven fan is located. When the pipes are opened to draw pipevibra'ting air from the wind box, and the valve 44 automatically opens, the damper 63 is by the linkage 64, 65, 6'6 simultaneously opened to permit the desired flow of air through the blower and into the wind-box. Thus, an effective and economical device is provided for insuring silence when the pipes are not playing, but with the blower in operation.

In some cases the air inlet or duct of the blower 39 is not directly connected to the atmosphere outside of the cabinet P, but the blower is arranged to draw its supply of air from within the chamber 38, by way of an inlet 67 having a damper 68 which is chain-belt (64) connected to the valve 44, as shown in Fig. 2. When the pipes are silent and the valve 44 is closed, the damper 68 is closed, to exclude the escape of sound from the blower. The blower may draw its air through passages 37 from above the wind-box W, in which case the valve and damper arrangement described performs the desired functions effectively, it being understood that the walls of the chamber 38 will ordinarily be lined with soundabsorbing panels (62, Fig. 1). In the event that the air for the blower 39 is admitted from the outer atmosphere directly into the chamber 38, an inlet 69 will be provided, and such inlet may have a suitable fabric or metal grill 70 mounted on the wall of the cabinet P. A damper 71 is mounted in inlet 69, and is geared by a chain-belt 72 to the shaft of damper 68, which in turn is geared by the chain-belt 64 to the valve 44. Thus, when the valve 44 is closed by mechanism 45, 48, 49, 50, the dampers 68 and 71 simultaneously close, to prevent the escape of noise from within the cabinet P to the outside.

Whereas the wind-box W in this case is shown to be constructed in two chamber portions 34 and 35 that are structurally interconnected by the walls of passage 36, it will be understood that such two chamber portions may be separately constructed and installed in proper relative positions and interconnected by flexible rubber hose, or the like, and that the air from the blower may be delivered through an air outlet (41) into either or both of the communicating chamber portions. In further modification, the valve-actuating bellows 45, instead of being mounted on the bottom of lower wind-box chamber portion 35, may be mounted on the bottom of the upper chamber 34, above the blower and its associated elemcnts, and the mechanical linkages between the valves and dampers (44, 63 or 44, 68, 71) rearranged to suit.

Various other modifications of the structure described may be adopted without departing from the spirit of the invention defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a pipe-organ assembly including a wind-box, an air inlet and an air outlet, an electrically driven blower for delivering air from said inlet and through said outlet into said wind-box, a plurality of organ pipes mounted externally of said wind-box, a valve unit for each pipe assembled with an orifice in the wall of said wind-box and including a passage through which air may flow from the wind-box into the air-receiving end of the pipe, and an electrically actuated valve in said unit for controlling the pipe-sounding flow of air through said passage; the invention herein described comprising a cabinet enclosing said assembly, with said air inlet in communication with the atmosphere outside of said cabinet, a noise-arresting damper in said air inlet, and means comprising a mechanism movable in response to the pressure ofair in said wind-box and connected in said cabinet to said damper for automatically closing the damper when the pipes are silent.

2. In a pipe'organ assembly including a wind-box, an air inlet and an air outlet, an electrically driven blower for delivering air from said inlet and through said outlet into said wind-box, a plurality of organ pipes mounted externally of said winda'box a valve unit for each pipe assembled with an orifice in the wall of said windbox and including a passage through which air may flow from the wind box into the air-receiving end of the pipe, and an electrically actuated valve in said unit for controlling the pipe-sounding flow of air through said passage; the invention herein described comprising a cabinet enclosing said assembly, with said air inlet in communication with the atmosphere outside of said cabinet, a flowcontrolling valve in said air outlet, a noise-arresting damper in said air inlet, and means comprising a mechanism movable in response to the pressure of air in said wind box and connected to said valve and damper for automatically regulating the position of the valve and damper in accordance with the pressure of the air in said wind-box.

3. The structure of claim 1, in which said electrically driven blower is mounted within the cabinet in a cham ber arranged below said wind-box, with the walls of said blower chamber in the cabinet comprised of sound-insulating material.

4. In a pipe-organ assembly including a wind-box comprising two communicating chamber portions mounted one at higher effective elevation than the other, an air inlet and an air outlet, an electrically driven blower mounted with sound insulation below the higher wind-box portion for delivering air from said inlet and through said outlet into said wind-box, a plurality of organ pipes mounted externally of each of said wind-box portions, a valve unit for each pipe assembled with an orifice in the wall of the associate wind-box portion, said valve unit including a passage through which air may flow from the associate wind-box portion into the air-receiving end of the pipe, an electrically actuated valve, in said valve unit for controlling the pipe-sounding flow of air through said passage, a flow-controlling valve in said air outlet, a noise-arresting damper in said air inlet, and means for automatically regulating said flow-controlling valve in accordance with the consumption by said pipes of air from said wind-box.

5. A pipe-organ assembly comprising a cabinet that houses a wind-box having two communicating wind-box portions mounted one at a higher elevation than the other, a chamber having sound-insulating walls, said chamber being located below the higher wind-box portion and between the lower wind-box portion and the wall of said cabinet, a blower mounted in said sound-proof chamber, an air inlet passage for the blower communicating with the atmosphere outside of said cabinet, an outlet passage for the blower communicating with the interior of said wind-box, an electric motor in said chamber for driving said blower to deliver air under superatmospheric pressure from said inlet passage and through said outlet passage into said wind-box, a plurality of organ pipes mounted above each of said wind-box portions, a valve unit for each pipe assembled with an orifice in the wall of the associate wind-box portion, said valve unit including a passage through which air may flow from the associate wind-box portion into the air-receiving end of the associate pipe, an electrically actuated valve in said valve unit for controlling the pipe-sounding flow of air through said passage, and means adjustable in response to the pressure of the air in said wind-box for controlling the delivery of air into said wind-box.

6. A pipeorgan assembly comprising a cabinet that houses a wind-box having two communicating wind-box portions mounted one at a higher elevation than the other, a chamber having sound-insulating walls, said chamber being located below the higher wind-box portion and between the lower wind-box portion and the wallet said for each pipe assembled with an orifice in the wall of 10 the associate wind-box portion, said valve unit including a passage through which air may flow from the associate wind-box portion into the air-receiving end of the associate pipe, an electrically actuated valve in said valve unit for controlling the pipe-sounding flow of air through said passage, and means including a noise-arresting damper for closing said air inlet when there is substantially no air 5 flow from the wind-box into said pipes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 601,318 Fuller Mar. 29, 1898 1,397,988 Smith Nov. 22, 1921 1,622,364 Barbieri Mar. 29, 1927 

